Francis James McLynn

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(born 29 August 1941), known as Frank McLynn, is a British author, biographer, historian and journalist. He is noted for critically acclaimed biographies of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, ph ...

Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

and

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa and his sear ...

Early life and education

McLynn was educated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. He was Alistair Horne Research Fellow at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economi ...

(1987–88) and was visiting professor in the Department of Literature at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

(1996–2001)Frank McLynn, "Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution", Back cover bio

/ref> and professorial fellow at Goldsmiths College, Goldsmiths College London (2000–2002) before becoming a full-time writer.

Bibliography

Books

*''France and the Jacobite Rising of 1745'' (1981),

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

*''The Jacobite Army in England, 1745–46'' (1983), John Donald Publishers Ltd *''The Jacobites'' (1985), Law Book Co of Australasia *''Invasion: From the Armada to Hitler'' (1987),

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

*''Charles Edward Stuart: A Tragedy in Many Acts'' (1988)

; Reissued (2020) by Sharpe Books . *''Crime and Punishment in Eighteenth Century England'' (1989),

*''Stanley: The Making of an African Explorer, 1841–1877'' (1990),

Scarborough House Publishers Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, ...

*''From the Sierras to the Pampas: Richard Burton's Travels in the Americas, 1860–69'' (1991),

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

*''Stanley: Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (1992),

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

*''Snow upon the Desert: The Life of Sir Richard Burton'' (1993), John Murray Publishers Ltd *''Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa'' (1993),

Carroll & Graf Pub Carroll may refer to: People * Carroll (given name) * Carroll (surname) * O'Carroll, also known as Carroll, a Gaelic Irish clan * Mac Cearbhaill, anglicised as Carroll, a Gaelic Irish clan * Charles Carroll Webster (1824-1893), American lawyer an ...

*''Famous Letters: Messages & Thoughts That Shaped Our World'' (1993),

Reader's Digest Association Trusted Media Brands, Inc. (TMBI), formerly known as the Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (RDA), is an American multi-platform media and publishing company that is co-headquartered in New York City and White Plains, New York. The company was ...

*''Fitzroy MacLean'' (1993), John Murray Publishers Ltd *''Robert Louis Stevenson: A Biography'' (1994),

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

*''Famous Trials: Cases That Made History'' (1995),

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

*''Napoleon: A Biography'' (1997),

Arcade Publishing Arcade Publishing is an independent trade publishing company that started in 1988 in New York, USA. It publishes American and world fiction and nonfiction. The company was started and run by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette.Weber, Bruce (J ...

*''Carl Gustav Jung: A Biography'' (1997),

Thomas Dunne Books Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction. History The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...

*''1066: The Year of the Three Battles'' (1998),

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

, Reissued by Pimlico, *''Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution'' (2000),

Basic Books Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history. H ...

*''Wagons West: The Epic Story of America's Overland Trails'' (2002),

Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United Sta ...

*''1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World'' (2005),

Atlantic Monthly Press Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "A ...

, *''Lionheart and Lackland: King Richard, King John and the Wars of Conquest'' (2006),

**Published in the US as ''Richard and John: Kings at War'' (2007),

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...

*''Marcus Aurelius: Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor'' (2009),

Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

, *''Heroes and Villains: Inside the Minds of the Greatest Warriors in History'' (2009),

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

*''The Burma Campaign: Disaster Into Triumph 1942–45'' (2010),

, Issued by Yale University Press in 2011, *''Captain Cook: Master of the Seas'' (2011),

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univers ...

, *''The Road Not Taken: How Britain Narrowly Missed a Revolution, 1381–1926'' (2012),

*''Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World'' (2015),

As editor

*''Of No Country: An Anthology of the Works of Sir Richard Burton'' (1990),

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Scribners Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Ra ...

Criticism and reviews

''Captain Cook : master of the seas'' (2011)

Awards and accolades

Cheltenham Prize for Literature The Cheltenham Prize is awarded at the English Cheltenham Literature Festival to the author of any book published in the relevant year which "has received less acclaim than it deserved". Past winners *1979: Angela Carter for '' The Bloody Chamb ...

(1985; for ''The Jacobite Army in England'') *Shortlisted, McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year (1989, for ''Charles Edward Stuart'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLynn, Frank 1941 births Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British biographers British military historians Living people Academics of the University of Strathclyde Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford British male journalists Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Alumni of the University of London Male biographers